florette ❃

My first post in tumblr.

Greetings, wherever you are. I am florette (with all lowercase, yes.) and I enjoy writing and making headcanons. My username is the combination of 'fleur' (French for 'flower') and 'pianissimo' (musical term for 'very softly'). I speak English and Bahasa Indonesia but I will use English most of the time.

Check my carrd over here (it contains my socials too).

Merci. °•. ✿ .•°

As a sentinel, Cypher was not really an agent who worked in the frontline. He preferred to give support to the other agents by giving them information regarding the enemies' location.

That was why he respected the duelist by how well they did their job, despite having them to risk their own life, especially the younger ones.

The agents for a mission in Haven were Cypher, Jett, Killjoy, Omen, and Skye. The other knew well that Jett did a great job most of the time (if she didn't get too reckless) and always succeed bringing victory to the team with her aggressiveness. Like any usual day, Cypher observed how the team, under Sage's command, worked for this mission and Jett was really, really, outstanding.

Cypher was not someone who gave compliment to people all the time (unlike a certain Frenchman), but he couldn't help but blurted out a compliment to the young lady.

"Fly, my wind assassin, do what you do best."

Jett, who was waiting for her cue in C long, was giggling. "Thanks, Cypher. I'll show them what I got."

Cypher didn't know that his compliment made his girlfriend slightly jealous. I mean, Killjoy was familiar with Cypher giving compliments here and there, but calling Jett 'his wind assassin' made her feel a sting in her heart. It just sounded 'intimate' for her, even though Cypher probably didn't mean to make it sound like that.

Arriving at the base, Killjoy quickly separated herself and bid goodbye from the group as she had to bring the spike and report to Brimstone. Cypher looked at her walking quickly to Brimstone's office and noticed something must have bothered her.

He sent a message to her: ˝Little engineer, will you be in your workshop after this?˝

A replied came several minutes after that: ˝Ja. I still have to work with the spike.˝

She wasn't even asking why he wanted to come.

Cypher replied: ˝Can I come? I want to lend a hand.˝

˝I can do it by myself but sure if you want to come.˝

Cypher waited for her in front of Brimstone's office. She came out with the spike in her hand and Cypher offered to hold it for her which she accepted. Then, Killjoy proceed to open her lab door and they were greeted by her bots.

"Hello, my babies." Killjoy smiled. "We have a guest today, which you've already known." The bot chirped happily.

"Oh, just put the spike there." She pointed to a desk with lamps on the top of it. Cypher followed her instruction and put the spike down. In his head, he tried to open the conversation, but it was pretty hard.

"Little engineer, you seem a little off. Is something bothering you?"

Killjoy stopped moving and turned at Cypher. "Me? No. Haha. Maybe, I am just tired. Ja, hahaha. You don't have to worry." Then, she continued to tinker with the spike like nothing happened.

Cypher frowned, not believing what she said. "Is it something to do with me?"

The girl almost injured her hand when hearing that question. This alerted Cypher; that he must've scored a jackpot with that question. "Can you tell me what I did wrong, darling?"

"It's stupid anyway." Killjoy continued working, even though her heart was beating louder than usual. "You'll laugh at me and I don't want that."

"Oh, love. I won't laugh at your feeling."

"It's just you called Jett with 'my wind assassin' before. I thought it was just ... really intimate coming in from your mouth. It was stupid that I felt jealous." Killjoy finally opened up the spike to see the inside of it.

Cypher came closer to her and stood beside her. "You know I don't see her like the way I see you, right?"

"I know and that's why I said it's stupid. I just got jealous over nothing."

"But hey, the jealousy kinda makes me happy, knowing that you love me a lot." Cypher chuckled. "I promised I won't do it again."

"No, no. I can't stop you from doing what you want to do. I mean, it is nice to hear you give praises to the other agents, but—"

"But?"

"Maybe, just don't sound ... to flirty? Argh! I don't know." Killjoy ruffled her hair in frustration.

Cypher laughed. "I get what you mean, my love. No more flirty compliments to the other agents. Oh, dear. I cannot help but think that you are really adorable."

Killjoy's cheeks were burning.

"May I kiss you?" He asked and she gave him a green light. Cypher leant down and open his mask to give Killjoy a soft kiss in the lips.

Well, his compliment to Jett was purely because he was amused by how Jett perform that day, but he ended up knowing the other side of the calm and collected Killjoy.

Events in the VALORANT Protocol varied. Sometimes, the events would be really fancy where the agents decorated the whole living room and kitchen area, bought expensive food and beverages, and wore glamorous outfits, but sometimes it would be very simple where they would cook their own food, wear the most comfortable clothes they had, or even just gather around the fireplace near the beach area while drinking alcohol or non-alcoholic beverage.

15th May and they gathered in a small cottage near to the beach in their headquarters to celebrate international family day, which Raze were suggesting. Brimstone was against it at first, since he was the one who set the no-fraternization rule in the protocol, but he gave up when the youngsters kept asking his permission to celebrate the day, saying that it would just be them enjoying their free time together by chatting, eating, and drinking which was actually true because they did just that on the d-day.

When Cypher heard about this event that they would celebrate together, the man felt a sting in his heart as he should be celebrating it with his beloved wife, Nora, and their little one. This day was something that he could never celebrate with his real family.

"Cypher."

"Hm?" Sage came to his side with a glass of tea, his expensive tea, which Killjoy asked him to bring some. She gave the glass to him and he received it with a smile, even though she couldn't really see it.

"My thanks."

Both of them were pretty far away from the others, especially the youngsters who were busy playing games, running around the beach, and drinking canned soda. Sage, who was beside him, looked away in understanding when Cypher opened a part of his mask, drinking the tea in silence.

"Tonight is lively, isn't it?"

"Yes, I can agree to that."

"What do you think will happen after we save the world?" She gazed at the other agents from far away. "Will everyone go their own way?"

"Maybe. We don't have a reason to make them stay."

"I will surely miss this." Sage smiled. "The VALORANT Protocol is the closest of what I can call as a family."

"A family, huh ...." Cypher closed his mask and sighed, remembering all his past interactions with the agents since he first joined the VALORANT Protocol.

They bickered with each other. They laughed together. They supported each other for one goal, to protect this earth and prevent the same thing he experienced happened to other people. Cypher was glad he accepted Brimstone's invitation here.

Brimstone nagging voice and the laughter from the younger agents and Breach could be heard.

"I'll definitely miss this too."

Cypher and Chamber.

Despite them being a fellow co-worker in the same division a.k.a the sentinels of the VALORANT Protocol, both of them couldn't be said to have a good relationship. Cypher was very skeptical towardsthe Frenchman. Chamber 'clean record' looked really fake in his eyes even though Chamber did contribute to the team by recommending Neon to Brimstone, working on the ALPHA-OMEGA teleporter, and being part of the strike team in Istanbul. Cypher still could sense that Chamber was hiding something from the VALORANT Protocol and it might cause trouble in the future for them.

Honestly speaking, Cypher couldn't help but silently judging Chamber while digging information about the said man, even when Chamber arrived at the protocol. Expensive fancy suit and customized weapon just screamed rich at Cypher, making him thinking that Chamber was a spoiled brat. The man worked as a marksman to a weapon designer in Kingdom Defense, moving from one place to another and seemingly fine in doing his work. Not weird for some people but this makes him think that Chamber was incompetent and had another motive, especially when it was Chamber himself who offer to join the VALORANT Protocol. As far as Cypher knew, only Viper and Killjoy willingly join the team where the rest were 'invited'. Both Viper and Killjoy were not suspicious as they were related to Brimstone, the leader and founder of the VALORANT Protocol.

But Chamber, everything about this man was suspicious and he was sure on his intuition that something was off about the man.

Chamber, on the other hand, also noticed the Moroccan 'off' behavior when meeting him at the headquarters. As someone who had worked with different kind of people, Chamber knew that Cypher was someone that he needed to be careful of.

Cypher was mysterious, always hiding every inch of his skin from other agents, even their own leader. This led him to believe that Cypher also had another intention when joining the team. Small private working space and thinking that certain brand of tea were expensive made Chamber thought that Cypher came from a poor family.

Those were just small examples of them constantly judging each other in silence, of course without never knowing the real truth.

One day, the truth shall rise and proof whether their judgements are true or not.

Cypher was not the one who expressed himself openly to others but he had a massive respect for their leader, Brimstone.

As much as he liked to annoy Brimstone (like the rest of the youngsters do), Cypher would always be grateful to have Brimstone as their leader. That man was the one who recruited him to the team, asking him to be part of VALORANT Protocol and stopped the madness Kingdom did. Brimstone was the one who took care of everyone in the protocol, making sure that no one was left behind in the team, even Omen or the newest recruit, Fade.

Cypher, as a night owl, would often find the lights on Brimstone's office in the basement was still there, meaning that the man was still finishing his paperwork and report or even thinking of a new strategy for their next mission.

Brimstone was not young anymore but he was still here, leading them, guiding them, and making sure that the world would be safe for the future generation. And Cypher remember that Brimstone was once a firefighter, it just made Cypher respect him even more.

𝘒𝘯𝘰𝘤𝘬 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘤𝘬.

"Come in." Brimstone's raspy voice could be heard faintly from outside of the office. With his elbow, Cypher opened a door, holding two cups of tea (his expensive tea).

"Cypher, what brings you here?"

"No reason." The informant broker answered, then another sentence followed in a playful manner, "I thought it would be nice to have a cup of tea while working. It can help you relax as well."

As much as Brimstone wanted to hide his tiredness, Cypher could still see it.

"Thanks." Brimstone took the cup and gave the tea a taste. "It's good. Not too sweet."

Cypher nodded. "Only a cube of sugar, just like what you put in your coffee."

Brimstone rolled his eyes. "Don't tell me you still have your camera in the kitchen."

Cypher shrugged. "Maybe."

They both stayed in a comfortable silence, before Cypher opened up the conversation, "Don't forget to rest, Brimstone."

"Now, you just sound like Killjoy, huh. You hang out too much with her."

Cypher laughed. "We're both engineers. Of course, we hang out a lot, but on a serious note, please don't forget that. We don't want our leader to be sick, right?"

"Yeah, I know. You're right." Brimstone finished his tea and put down his pen. "Maybe, that's enough paperwork for today."

Cypher made his way to the office door and a 'thank you' from Brimstone stopped him. With 'your welcome' as a reply, Cypher made his way out of Brimstone's office, feeling a little bit relief that he could express his gratitude to the big man in his own way.

Cypher was a night owl. It was mostly because he liked to work in silence that could be achieved better in night time where everyone was asleep. Another reason was he seemed to have nightmares a lot when sleeping, so he stopped himself from sleeping and let the nightmare took him away.

He just entered the Vulture after a long mission and his body would not shut down like the other agents that were sleeping now. A hand tapped his. Cypher looked to his right and found Killjoy staring at him. His girlfriend's face was grazed by the bullets from her double before.

"Come here." She whispered to not wake up the others. She tapped her shoulder, signaling him to rest there. No words came from her after that.

Cypher took off his hat and leant to her. Like a magic, Cypher's body was able to relax. He could hear Killjoy humming a song faintly and felt her fingers on his, intertwined.

Cypher didn't really pay attention to the other things after that. He didn't even know that Sage came out from the cockpit, brought a blanket, and put it on the currently sleeping Cypher and Killjoy.

Sage smiled, feeling happy that finally Cypher could get some peaceful sleep in the presence of Killjoy. It would be a secret that she kept in her heart.

A/N: Yes, they're dating but no one knows about it beside Sage.

Aamir would neither forgive nor forget Kingdom Corporation for what they did to his family and his town, Rabat. They came there in the name of 'research' and expanded their 'business' by destroying and taking all the resources there.

He despised them with all of his being, so he accepted the invitation to join the VALORANT Protocol as everyone there experienced similar things with him.

Time flew by and he was busy with missions in the protocol, but sometimes, when he looked at his Nora framed in that black photo frame, he could not help but felt emptiness inside his heart. There was no way he could meet Nora again, even with Sage's resurrection, so what he could do was to come to Nora's grave whenever they had a mission in Rabat.

Whenever he visited her grave, Cypher would tell her about his life, his fellow agents, his works. He never said that he was tired because everything he did was for bringing justice to her. However, sometimes the mission was just so exhausting and he would just let his emotion flow in front of her gravestone, alone by himself.

A rustling sound of grass caught his attention and he found Sage sat down under a tree, looking at him from afar.

"Sorry." She murmured, "I didn't mean to pry on your personal life or anything. You just … look off today."

Cypher sighed, too tired to even respond to her. "It's fine."

Sage was shocked, not expecting Cypher just said that to her. She knew him as someone who were so careful with his secrets and personal life.

The man came and sat down with her. "When will we go back to base?"

"In about 30 minutes. Do you have something to do before leaving?"

"No." Cypher shook his head and took off his hat, putting it down on his lap. He thought of something, a little bit ashamed to admit that he would ever think of that, but he was asking it to her anyway.

"Can I rest for a while, Sage?"

Sage blinked, confusion was written all over her face. "Par—"

Before she could finish her sentence, Cypher rested his head on her shoulder and his robotic blue eyes gazed on the city of Rabat in front of him. Without him realizing, a sob broken from his lips and a muffled cry was carried away by the wind.

Sage didn't understand what caused him to feel like this, but she made sure that even a secretive person like Cypher, would never feel alone.

"You don't have to say a thing. I'll be here."

Cypher was not the type of person who liked to work out in the Protocol's gym. He preferred to work out in his own bedroom where he had some dumbbells, a jump rope, and an exercise mat. There was a reason why he did that was because he was not comfortable to show himself to the other agents. He never went outside without covering his whole body, from head to toes. None of the other agents were surprised when they didn't found Cypher in the gym, but they knew that the man took care of himself.

So, when Skye and Astra found Cypher entering the gym with only a training pants, a workout short sleeve t-shirt, and a black mask, they couldn't help but gasp and stared at him.

"Surprised much?" He asked.

Skye blinked thrice and nodded. "Of course, mate! We have never seen you in the gym before!"

Cypher smiled and shrugged. "I will come to the gym often from now on." He put his index finger in front of his lips. "Don't tell the others about this because it will be interesting to see their reaction of me visiting the gym."

On the morning, Cypher got a knock on his door. He, who had just finished dressing, used his mask and opened the door. He found no one there but there was a cat bed with 2 cats on it, also a note. Cypher blinked once, twice at the cats before picking up the notes.

« Cypher, this is Sage. Currently, I have a mission together with Omen in Bind. I would like your help to take care of our cats for three days. The black one is Omen's cat, Hecate, and mine is the white one, Bao. I'll bring you something in return from Rabat. I'll send you an email about what they need. Thank you. »

The black cat with yellow eyes was sleeping and the white one was meowing at him. Cypher loved cat but he never took care of one before. He brought the two cats inside his room and open his tablet to check the mail from Sage. He read it carefully before Bao came to him and started nuzzling his head on his leg.

"You are sure adorable." He murmured before picking the white fluffy cat up.

"It's pretty complicated." He frowned before exclaimed, "Oh!"

He nodded to himself before making a phone call.

"Hello?"

"Fade, please meet me at the living room. I have an emergency situation where you are the only one who can take care of it."

—Because without you, there’s no me.— Best of Me by BTS

₊˚ ✧ ‿︵‿୨୧‿︵‿ ✧ ₊˚

The awkwardness filled the air as they continued their supper after the Lantern Rite festival. At least, that was Xiao felt. He had no idea that Venti, who he just met several days ago, would actually come and hang out with both mortals and adepti. The way Venti and Zhongli just pretended like they didn't know about each others surely made Xiao and the traveler a little uneasy.

Venti said that he would go to the Alcor, talking with his other mortal friend. Zhongli enjoyed taking a stroll in the harbor, a place that he had protected for thousands of years, so he did just that.

After bidding his farewell with the Traveler, Xiao went back to Wangshu Inn, to (presumably) take a break. These days, he felt more tired than before. The words from the traveler and a certain bard that we already knew who surely lived rent free on his mind.

"Happy Lantern Rite, Adeptus Xiao." Verr Goldet greeted from behind the counter, just like she did years ago.

"Happy Lantern Rite too." He answered and it surely shook her, because Xiao always replied with a "hmm" or "you too", not bothered saying the festival name.

Verr Goldet smiled, "I'll ask the chef to prepare the best Almond Tofu tomorrow morning."

"You don't ha-- uh, ... thank you."

Swiftly, Xiao made his way to his room, located on the very top of Wangshu Inn. He put his spear back to the assigned place and went to his bed. A sigh escaped his mouth, a mixed of relief, disappointment, happiness, and a hint of sadness.

"Knock, knock! Can I come in?"

The familiar voiced of a certain bard came to his ears. Jolting, Xiao sat straight on the bed and replied. "Yeah, you can."

The door opened and a twin-braided man popped out from behind it. "Are you gonna sleep, Xiao?"

"Just now, I want to."

"Good! When did you have this kind of thoughts? To rest, I mean. Do you remember the Traveler's words or ... my words too?"

"Both, actually."

"You surely fond of the Traveler, don't you?" Venti asked and sat down besides the Conqueror of Demons, before continuing, "I'm kinda jealous!"

"W-Why are you jealous? I—" Xiao was at loss of words.

"I mean, you took their advice seriously, but when I said it, at least 70%, I think that you ignore me all the time!" The Anemo Archon pouted.

"N-No!" Xiao replied, panic could be heard, "Don't ..., don't ever said that again, Barbatos!"

"Why did you say that?"

"You may think that your contribution in ... "changing" me, that word surely feels a little weird ..., was small. I just want to say that it was not true."

Xiao, who was captivated before by Venti's gaze, diverted his eyes from Venti. He couldn't bring himself to look at the older's.

"Because without you, there's no me."

"Xiao ...."

"You are the one who truly ... makes me better each day. Your melody saved me from my karmic debt, letting me to live longer and protect Liyue. You are the remedy that I need."

Venti was left speechless by Xiao's sudden words. Slowly, Venti could see Xiao's cheeks were getting more and more red each second. The tone-deaf bard, as Paimon called him, cupped Xiao's face into his palm and their eyes met.

"Thank you so much, Xiao. The wind will always bless you, no matter where you are."

"And please remember, that it was not just my tune that saved you, but you still had the power inside you and you never gave up on the first place."

An embrace was given and Xiao could not stop thinking that the figure in front of him was indeed his savior and his ultimate remedy.

And definitely someone that he respected, cared and loved for the rest of his life.

—A remedy, a melody. That memory that only I will remember.— Jamais Vu by BTS

₊˚ ✧ ‿︵‿୨୧‿︵‿ ✧ ₊˚

It came back again. The dream.

He was alone, laying down near the burnt grass near Dihua Marsh. His blurry eyes spotted corpses of abyss mages and other demons all around him. He lifted his hand, seeing so much blood and bruises and having no idea whether it was his or his victims. The aching started to creep from his legs to his head. Everything was spinning and he was about to lose himself completely.

Then, he heard a melody. It was from a flute, a Liyuen flute.

The melody was soothing and he was sure that his aching wounds were healed. The melody was calming that he could not contain himself to not be engulfed with sleepiness.

"Are you awaken yet?"

"Did I oversleep again?"

"You sure did, buddy." Heizou patted, more like slapping, the sleepy person's back several times.

"Heizou, stop it."

"Sorry, Xiao! Let's go back to the class. Also, how can you sleep when the canteen is so noisy?"

Xiao sighed and took his backpack, then walked alongside the confused looking Heizou. "Homeworks make me tired. I guess that is why."

"Is being an engineering major that hard?"

Rolling his eyes, Xiao answered, "You can repeat your question again, slowly."

Xiao sped up, leaving Heizou behind. Right before he turned left on the intersection, Xiao heard something familiar.

A melody from a Liyuen flute.

Xiao didn't even think about his next class and ran to find the source of that melody. He was having a similar dream for several months, about his supposedly "former life" and he always heard this melody played by someone with twin-braided hair who he called "Barbatos". The melody was played not only when he was in pain, but in many different occassions.

Panting, Xiao finally arrived at the university garden and found the player of that melody.

"Barbatos, is that you ...?"

The melody stopped and "Barbatos" turned around. Xiao was sure that the twin-braided hair man he saw right now was Barbatos. He might sound crazy but they definitely met in their previous life.

"I'm sorry, but have we met before?"

—How long do I have to wait? How many nights do I have to pass to see you?— Spring Day by BTS

₊˚ ✧ ‿︵‿୨୧‿︵‿ ✧ ₊˚

Legend amongst the people lived near Wangshu Inn said that they could see a figure sitting down on the top of the inn's tower every night. This happened for more than several centuries. There was no idea of who was the figure, but what they knew that figure was a yaksha that guarded Liyue. People thought the figure looked like it was watching or ... waiting for something.

One night, a soft melody could be heard by those who were awaken. Soon, those people fell asleep soundly, like there was nothing that could disturb them. The faithfully waiting yaksha was not alone this time, but with the accompany of a bard with a flute on his hand.

"Have you been waiting for me here the entire time, my love?"

"I told you, I will wait. No matter how long it is."

The bard swang his dangling feet and the yaksha leant on the fence. The breeze that night was not cold at all. "I'm sorry that I could not come earlier."

"It's fine. As long as you come."

The bard came down and touched the yaksha's hand, then leading him inside the inn. "I'm here now. Your wait is over, my love. I will not go anywhere else. No more lonely night for you to bear."

—Come home and lie in bed. Thinking if it was my fault?— 00:00 by BTS

₊˚ ✧ ‿︵‿୨୧‿︵‿ ✧ ₊˚

Clack!

The sound of door opening and soft footsteps were the only things breaking the silent night. No light shone the room besides the moon. Xiao put his guitar near the sofa and came to the bathroom to clean himself. He was holding himself back to not let a sigh escaped. It was truly a tiring day. Nothing went well and his professor ended up scolding him again for a small mistake he did in the class.

When he opened the bedroom door, he could see Venti sleeping peacefully, curled up like an armadillo. Xiao came and positioned himself beside Venti and held him tight. Finally, letting out a sigh, Xiao broke down into a sob. Shits went down bad because of him, his bandmates failed to qualify to the competition because of him, his university presentation group was crumbling too.

He didn't notice that Venti wasn't actually sleeping. The twin-braided man turned around and cupped Xiao's cheeks.

"V-Ven—"

"Shush ...."

Venti didn't let Xiao speak a single word. Instead, he continued to caress Xiao's cheeks and ruffled his hair, then bringing Xiao into his embrace.

Without a word that night, Xiao's mind and heart was healed by Venti.

—Goodbyes are even more painful. I can’t go on if you’re not here.— Outro: Love is not Over by BTS

₊˚ ✧ ‿︵‿୨୧‿︵‿ ✧ ₊˚

"X-Xiao ...? Can you hear my voice ...?"

The person who was called 'Xiao' finally opened his eyes. The first thing he saw was

the beautiful teary eyed Venti, cupping and caressing his face softly like there was no tomorrow.

"Ven ... ti ...."

"Oh, Xiao .... I-I'll get Zhongli, okay? Or ..., I can get one of my children in Mondstadt—!"

The karmic debt was surely taking a toll in his body. All the good deeds he did could not remove his bloody past from the massacre he had done. Now, after thousands of years fighting and fighting, his body was not able to handle the pain anymore.

"No— I ... I want you ... t-to stay ... here ...."

"Yes ..., yes. I'll—I'll stay."

Xiao let out a smile. "I ... guess, I have ... r-reached my limit ...."

His skin was darkened and the black mist surrounding him became bigger. The yaksha closed his eyes, feeling his consciousness slowly decreasing.

"Xiao ... hey. Don't ... don't sleep, 'kay?"

"I'll ... t-try, Venti ...."

Venti's hand trembled as he grabbed Xiao's. "I love you ... I love you so much ..., Xiao. Please ... don't leave ...."

"H-How am I suppose to live ... without you? Who will stop me ... from drinking too much wine, hm?" The Archon's breath was short and painful.

"You ... You c-can live ... without me ..., and have a ... g-good—" A cough, followed with blood. "—life ...."

"I ... lo—"

—And they said we can't be together, because, because we came from different sides.— My Universe by Coldplay x BTS

₊˚ ✧ ‿︵‿୨୧‿︵‿ ✧ ₊˚

"Xiao, don't you think the lanterns are super pretty?"

Venti's cheerful voice filled up the balcony of Wangshu Inn. Xiao, the Vigilant Yaksha, was 'forced' to be there and accompany the Anemo Archon. Xiao was supposed to do his duty, protecting Liyue Harbor, but when he was done fighting, Venti came and pulled him away. And now here he was.

"It is." Xiao replied with a small voice. However, his eyes didn't focus on the lanterns flying from Liyue Harbor, but to the Anemo Archon. "It is ... pretty."

"Should we go to the harbor? If you want to, of course." Venti's question was then followed by a soft giggle.

Xiao didn't seem to think much and said the first thing came into his mind, "I would prefer to spend time with you, wherever you are."

This left Venti speechless before he laughed. The Archon came closer and rested his head on Xiao's shoulder.

"You are so—cute. I—love—"

==[]==

"What a magnificent painting!"

A voice, somewhat familiar, filled with adoration seeped through Xiao's ears, who was standing in front of the painting for a solid 10 minutes. Xiao glanced to the sweet voice, before his eyes widened and now giving his full attention.

Just like love at first sight, Xiao's heart filled with relief. He, then, looked back to the painting of the two people, one with twin-braided hair and one with a yaksha mask, in front of him, with a title: Eternal Love in a Universe.

"I've finally found you."

—I knew these small feathers would become wings. Flying, flying, with my reddened wings.— Outro: WINGS by BTS

₊˚ ✧ ‿︵‿୨୧‿︵‿ ✧ ₊˚

It was begun with a single feather, growing on his back. The teal-green coloured feather shone bright in the dark night. He, like most of the children in the world, caressed and loved that small feather. Then, more and more small feathers were formed. He had the faith and belief that these feathers would grow bigger and stronger, so he could protect other people.

"Heh ..., haha ..., HAHAHA!"

The invisible red strings, trapping and tainting, made him dance with the bloodstained polearm. His mind was blurry as he crushed everything beneath him. His majestic wings helped him fly even higher as he devoured his victims' dreams.

The wings he thought would protect, ended up destroying everything.

The teal-coloured wings, stained red and filled with blood.

==[]==

"Xiao ...?"

"Hm?"

"You ... okay?"

A small touched cleared his mind and brought him back to reality. The blue sky greeted and a teal-haired person came to his sight.

"I ..., I'm fine. Do not worry." He gave the person a slight smile before gazing back at the blue sky, remembering the time when he still had his wings.

And the time where he had to let go of it.

Like a mind reader, the person beside him said, "I think I'm done resting! Should we go now? We will miss the Lantern Rite if we keep stopping like this!"

"I remember it was you who asked to take a break and it was you who wanted to go to the Liyue Harbor by foot. I could just hold you and teleport there."

"It will be no fun then! Um, how about we fly?"

Xiao froze for several seconds there before replying, "You understand that I have no wing anymore."

Right after he said that, a beautiful and majestic pair of white wings opened in front of him. Xiao could see gold sparkles around them and it was mesmerizing.

"Hold my hand, Xiao." The person reached out to him. "I'll hold you tight and be your wings."

"And we can fly wherever we want."

The wings flapped with excitement, ready to make them soar high in the sky. Xiao grabbed that person's hand and smiled, before the person gave him a small kiss on the cheek.

"As you wish, Venti."

This is a headcanon or my thought about Cypher and Killjoy when they are in bed. I'm gonna split this into two parts (Cypher's part and Killjoy's part) so you can see it from both perspective.

And this is also sentrywire!

[ Cypher ]

Cypher is a very gentle one. He will hold Killjoy like she is the most fragile thing in the whole world. At first, he found it super awkward doing it with her since the last time he did it was with Nora. Cypher will ask her if he hurts her or if she wants to have a short break.

While being inside her, he will caress her hair and kiss her. His hands will hold her, making sure that she is in a comfortable position. He will move slowly until she asks him to move faster. He usually is controlling the pace but he doesn't mind if she takes control too. He also likes to play rough, but not too rough (since they are agents that need to fight so taking care of their body is important).

Either way, he would take care of her after they are done. He will make a cup of jasmine tea and bring her into his embrace. In conclusion, he is a gentleman in bed even though he is scary as fuck when in the battlefield.

[ Killjoy ]

She is shy since she isn't used to this kind of thing. Of course, she knows about this thing since she learnt in in school (and used credible resources in the internet). However, she never does this and Cypher is her first. She is the one who asks him first to do it.

After several times doing it, she starts to feel comfortable and not that shy anymore. She even asks to take control of the pace several times (which is granted by Cypher). She usually will grab the bed sheet or pillow. However, she likes to hold him the most when she is sitting on his lap. She will grab his shoulder or put her hands around his neck. Killjoy is either kissing him or burying her face on his neck.

After the spicy session, she usually will get exhausted but still steals one or two kisses from Cypher. She can hear the man mutters 'I love you' and she will reply to him in a tired but genuine voice. In conclusion, she is actually shy but also wants do take control sometimes.

[ Addition ]

Killjoy's face is a mess in bed, very different from the sassy and genius Killjoy that everyone knows and Cypher finds it so adorable. They usually do it in Cypher's room since it is bigger and more secluded from the other members' room (his room is in the corner of the second floor). In his room, the wall is soundproof so they don't need to worry much. However, it doesn't mean that they don't do it in Killjoy's room.

Also, Brimstone knows about their relationship and he doesn't mind since Killjoy is not a kid anymore and he trusts Cypher enough. He just tells them that they are in the middle of a conflict with Kingdom and he lets both of them to think by themselves if they really want to continue their relationship or not.